Sweet 16?
by Galaxy-Mitsuko-Pegasus
Summary: For GoldenAngel99's contest. "Sure, his 'Sweet' 16th birthday may not have gone even remotely how he would've imagined it, but, as he thought of it, there was nobody he would have rather spent it with than his younger brother."


**For GoldenAngel99's contest. Enjoy! XD I seem to be really crazy about the Hikous lately. They're now official OCs of mine, or at least Arashi is. Isamu isn't as far-developed yet.**

* * *

February the fourth. In previous years, this day had been filled with laughter and happiness, his mother singing 'Happy Birthday to You' every time she saw him, and his dad telling embarrassing stories of his earlier years to practically everyone they met, just for the fun of embarrassing him. But, there would be none of that this year.

The last two months of his life had been tough. Well, more than tough. The DNA had attacked his hometown in early December of the previous year, and had destroyed or taken everything. All of his friends and family had been recruited into the DNA, and threatened with death if they refused.

* * *

_"Take your brother and go. Don't look back, and don't try to come back to fight them."_

_"But what about you?"_

_"They'd see me. I'm too slow. You and Isamu have a better chance at getting through their defenses and slipping out."_

_"But i can't leave you."_

_"Arashi, you have to. Listen to me. Don't let them get you or your brother. You're responsible for his safety. We'll be fine. Now, go!" Kotei Hikou shoved a backpack into his oldest son's hands and forced the two boys out the back door, right as the DNA broke down the front door._

* * *

Arashi sighed and rolled onto his back, crossing his arms behind his head and looking up at the sky. He and his brother had run, without looking back, just as they were told. After noticing their empty rooms, the DNA bladers had guessed what had happened and had come after them. In the ensuing battle, Arashi had been injured, but he and his brother had managed to escape.

"Arashi!" a voice exclaimed, as a young bluenette with sparkling emerald green eyes darted out of the bushes and pounced on his brother.

"Gahh, Isamu! Get off!" Arashi protested, sitting up and shoving his brother over.

"You're no fun." Isamu pouted.

"Leave me alone, i was trying to sleep."

"The sun's almost completely up!"

"So?" Arashi sighed and rolled over on his side, turning his back to the hyper Isamu.

"It's your birthday!"

"I don't care."

Isamu gasped lightly in surprise at the comment.

"B-but, why not?" he demanded.

Arashi made no response, closing his eyes as a few tears slipped out. The brothers shivered as a cold breeze blew through the surrounding trees, covering them both in a light dusting of snow from the heavily-covered tree branches.

"Arashi, answer me!" Isamu demanded angrily.

"It's not the same… Not without our parents…" Arashi muttered.

"But we still have each other. Isn't that enough?" Isamu asked.

"Just leave me alone."

"Arashi, no. I'm not-"

"I said leave me alone!" Arashi exploded, shoving his brother roughly away as he sat up, emerald right eye blazing in anger while the silver left one stared blankly at Isamu from between strands of blue hair.

"Fine then! If you don't want me, maybe i will go! I was just trying to make you feel better!" Isamu shouted, then picked up his backpack and stormed off into the forest.

Arashi watched his brother leave, then gathered up his own backpack and stalked off into the forest in the other direction.

"'Sweet 16,' huh? This is anything but that." Arashi grumbled, kicking a small rock away through the bushes as he walked.

"This is supposed to be one of the best and most celebrated birthdays, yet here i am, all alone because of those DNA idiots." Arashi snarled as a tree, launching his black and silver bey, Star Chimera, at it and creating a large dent in the bark.

"Lion Claw Attack!"

Chimera slashed through the tree at the command, leaving a deep gash in the bark and an impression on future passerby of the tree that a lion had been there.

Arashi caught his bey out of the air and continued walking, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down. His father had always said that he had the temper of a lion when angered. The bluenette leaned against a tree and closed his eyes, the expression on his face changing from anger to nothing within a few minutes.

_"You're responsible for his safety…"_

The sudden memory of his father's stern words made Arashi gasp, his eyes snapping open as he sat up. The sun was directly overhead. Had he fallen asleep? A sudden scream echoed through the forest, shoving the confusion out of the young blader's mind. Nimbly, he scrambled up the tree, glancing frantically around once he reached the top.

"Help!" Isamu's panicked cry echoed through the forest a second time, along with a low growl.

"Isamu…" Arashi breathed, then leapt towards the next tree, darting through the branches with an acquired nimbleness not unlike that of a goat. He soon spotted his brother clinging to a tree branch above a pair of wildcats, trying frantically to scare them off with his red and silver bey, Kerbecs.

"Chimera, Triple Storming Fire!" Arashi called, launching his bey and creating a ring of dark purple flames around the tree Isamu was in. The three-headed beast rose out of the silver and black bey, roaring at the cats with its lion head and scaring them off.

"Arashi!" Isamu exclaimed, scrambling down the tree and into his brother's arms.

"I'm sorry, i shouldn't have yelled at you." Arashi said quietly, resting his cheek on top of his brother's head.

"It's alright. I should have left you alone when you wanted me to." Isamu sobbed, pressing his face into his brother's red kimono-style shirt.

"Don't worry about it. You were right." Arashi muttered. "We still have each other, even if our parents aren't here for my birthday. And we're going to rescue them from the DNA."

Isamu smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah." Arashi said, his voice and eyes filling with determination. "They'd better look out for us, because we will take them down."

"But we don't have the strength!"

"We will. We'll become stronger, and we will beat them. We'll defeat every last one of them." Arashi said determinedly. "We're only a few hours from one of the best-known centers of Beyblade in the world, and that's where we're going."

Isamu grinned. "Yeah! Let's do this!"

Arashi smiled slightly and followed his brother as the younger teen set off into the forest. Sure, his 'Sweet' 16th birthday may not have gone even remotely how he would've imagined it, but, as he thought of it, there was nobody he would have rather spent it with than his younger brother. He still wished that his parents could have been around, or a few of his friends, but they couldn't be. He'd rescue them though, he'd rescue them all. The DNA would be unable to stand against his and Isamu's combined power.

Now that Arashi thought about it… This really was a perfect birthday, in an odd sort of way. The bluenette laughed aloud for the first time in what seemed like forever, and launched his bey, commanding it to slash through several trees before being joined by Kerbecs.

Isamu grinned as he lowered his launcher, his green eyes meeting the silver and emerald gaze of his older brother as the two began an all-out battle.

"Last one to Metal Bey City is a rotten egg!" Isamu called, taking off into the trees.

"Hey, you don't even know how to get there!" Arashi protested, taking off after his brother.


End file.
